Tuesday, 13 March 2012

Should First Time Buyers Take the Plunge in 2012?

First Time Buyers Home 2012

Many first time buyers feel they will never be able to get into the property market, particularly those in London and other expensive areas, where affordability is a very real issue. So should first time buyers be thinking very seriously of making 2012 the year to take the plunge and buy?

READ ON to find out.

Monday, 5 March 2012

What Impact will another Recession have on the Property Market?

Future Market

Predicting the property market is about as difficult as predicting the weather - and expert forecasts are rarely accurate. We know that over the next five years, in most areas, property prices are likely to recover, but within the next year or two, without a clear picture of how hard a recession could hit and to what level unemployment will rise, let alone unknown impacts of the Eurozone crisis on our banks and property market, it is tough to work out what will happen within the next six to twelve months. However below we go through key indicators which can influence prices.

READ ON for the full Future Property Market analysis

Friday, 2 March 2012

Current Market: 2012 a Good Year to Buy?

House Prices 2012

This year the usual doom and gloom merchants Capital Economics and Jonathan Davis are still saying property prices will fall by 5% (CE) or up to -12% (JD). These two companies are typically very ‘downbeat' about the market and have been since 2000! Other predictions suggest property prices will rise by up to 3%.

So, depending on whether we hit an economic recession in 2012 and how deep it is will determine whether prices show a little bit of growth or a small decline. If things get really rough with high unemployment levels, a sharp rise in repossessions and say a rise in interest rates, then it may be that the real doom and gloom forecasts of 5% or more falls could exist by the year end.

READ MORE to find out whether 2012 is a Good Year to Buy?

Thursday, 1 March 2012

Past Market Performance: Property Prices Start to Freeze

House Prices for 2011

Recent property price reports which measure what's happened to property prices in the past suggest that 2011 was a year where prices rose until the summer, then dropped back again, in the main to slightly lower than 2010 prices.

Volumes year on year are down, only by less than 1%, but this, along with other data suggests market volumes are weakening. This is significant for those looking to sell this year as lower volumes typically mean prices are likely to fall in the coming months. Back during the market heights, the average monthly volume in England and Wales was approximately 89,000 sales per month. At its lowest in 2009, the average monthly volume was 52,000 - a fall of 40%. Current volumes are running higher, but not by much: 60,000. This still represents 30% fewer homes being sold versus 2007.

READ ON for a Full Summary of House Prices 2011

Thursday, 12 January 2012

Latest Rental Market Statistics

Property Rental Market Update

2011 has proved a good year for the rental market. Firstly, lenders have started to realise buy to let investors are typically a ‘safe bet' when it comes to lending money and secondly, tenant demand is on the increase, meaning lower voids and rents have started to recover and in some cases overtake the heights achieved in September 2008. Much of the media's headlines about rent rises have however given an inaccurate picture as they compare year on year rents which ignore the fact that rents fell between 5% and 20% throughout 2009 due to excess rental stock from accidental landlords.

Current Rental Market Performance

Rental Market Outlook for 2012

Monday, 9 January 2012

Implications of the FSA Mortgage Changes for the Housing Market

The UK Housing Market

The changes to the market are unlikely to have much impact in the short term as currently mortgage lending criteria is pretty much sticking to similar rules as the FSA intend to impose.

The main impact will really take place when the economy and the market is likely to start recovering. Normally during a recovery, lending criteria will be relaxed a little as house prices start to rise rather than fall and lenders feel more secure in approving mortgage loans.

FIND OUT HERE what the implications are for you!

Friday, 6 January 2012

Mortgage Changes

To Get a Mortgage

The Financial Services Authority has just announced the latest round of suggestions to reform the mortgage market to try and make sure that the boom and bust in the housing market of 2000-2007 doesn't hit the UK economy again.

The first round didn't go well and suggested that there were going to be no self certification mortgages (where proof of income is not required). It also suggested an end to interest only mortgages. Not allowing lenders this flexibility would have very much put major restrictions on lenders to lend, meaning less buyers would have the finance to buy now and into the future.

READ HERE for the FSA's latest suggestions